Useful

The pastime board game is a gift from a manufacturer hoping it will increase Veliko Tarnovo’s chance of winning the ‘European capital of culture 2019’ contest

On-ground chessboard

Veliko Tarnovo will receive an 8 by 8 meters long on-ground chessboard, worth approximately 2500 euros. The person who donates the chess is smitten with the town and in his opinion the chess will contribute towards Veliko Tarnovo’s efforts to win the contest.

The benefactor said that he is the only manufacturer of such on-ground chessboards in Bulgaria. The chess conforms to all world set guidelines and is in 1:10 scale compared to the standard table chess. The generous man will grant it for free because in his words Veliko Tarnovo deserves to have such an amusement.

The measurements of the base are 8 by 8 meters and the pieces are of three different sizes according to their significance – pawns are 40 cm high, rooks, nights and bishops are 60 cm and the king and queen tower at 80 cm.

According to the manufacturer the on-ground chessboard should ideally be placed within an amphitheatrical setting so that onlookers can have a good view of the moves and how the game of chess progresses. The only thing left to do for the local authorities is to find a spot for the game and help in building the tiered seats around it.

Veliko Tarnovo’s Regional Historic Museum is organizing free sightseeing tours of the cultural and historical sites and places in the town on the 3rd March. The reason behind this gift is Bulgaria’s National Holiday, remembered in history as Bulgaria’s Liberation Day, which is celebrated on that date. The guided tours are open for both citizens and guests of the town. Museum guides will conduct 2 two-hour walks along two different routes. Both of them will start from the ‘Tsar Ivan Asen’ square in front of the Tsarevets Fortress and will finish at ‘Mother Bulgaria’ monument.

The first walk-around or the so called ‘South tour’ will set off at 10.30 am. During this first walk tourists will learn more about the times when Veliko Tarnovo was the capital city of Bulgaria. Some of their stops will include The Turkish Archive, The Gaol Museum (once an operating prison) and The Konak (once a building fulfilling administrative function). They will also visit the Museum of the Bulgarian Revival and Constituent Assembly where the participants in the tour will see an exposition and get acquainted with the details of the struggle for national liberation and the Russian-Turkish liberation war. Sightseers will also go along ‘Gurko’ street; they will see the museum ‘Sarafkinata kushta’, further pass by Veliko Tarnovo Inter-hotel; then along the Stambolov Bridge will get to the Art Gallery. At the most picturesque spot in Veliko Tarnovo, revealing panoramic views of the Old part of the town, tourists will be told more facts about The Asenevtsi monument, the Stambolov Bridge and the Boruna area. At the end of their walk they will see the exhibition ‘200 years Zahari Zograf’ in the Art Gallery.

‘The North Tour’ will start at 3 p.m. The group will go along ‘Ivan Vazov’ street, pass by ‘Nadezhda’ community centre and then they also will visit The Turkish Archive, Museum The Gaol Museum and The Konak and the Museum of the Bulgarian Revival and Constituent Assembly. Futher the sightseers will see the monument of Nikola Pikolo and will hear a short lecture at ‘Velchova zavera’ square. The group will stop at the Samovodskata Charshia, a street renowned with its craftsmen. The closing point will be at the Monument of the hanged. A talk of 40 minutes will be held there.

The traditional-styled buildings along the main street will be restored for free

An anonymous benefactor provided building materials for the renovation of tens of old buildings, situated along the main street in the Old historic part of Veliko Tarnovo. The generous sponsor sent many building materials such as paints, plasters, adhesives and different ornaments. The houses that will be given new life are placed along Stefan Stambolov street which leads to the renowned Tsarevets Fortress. Presently many of the structures are unsightly with crumbling façades, cracked window frames and decrepit roofs.

The owners are already informed that they have to ensure right of access to their properties. The façades and windows renovation will be for free, home-owners will only have to pay for fixing their roofs.

The citizens of Veliko Tanovo will even be spared the effort to enter their façade images projects in the National Institute of Immovable Cultural Heritage for approval. The plans are already worked out and approved and and uniform façade scheme is elaborated. The scheme is based on old photographs of Veliko Tarnovo published all over the world as early as 1877.

Similar façade plans will be drawn up for each and every street in the Old historic part of Veliko Tarnovo. All buildings, an estimate of more than 1500, were declared part of the Bulgarian cultural heritage decades ago.

The Veliko Tarnovo based Britos brewery received the ‘Investor of the Year ’ award at this year’s ceremony, held by the Bulgarian Investment Agency. Gabriela Popova, CEO of Britos, received the prize on behalf of the company.

Present at the ceremony were the Prime Minister of Bulgaria Plamen Oresharski, the Minister of Economy and Energy Dragomir Stoynev, the Regional Minister Desislava Terzieva, the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communication Danail Papazov and also Carlos Bronzato from the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies.

Over 20 million leva were invested in the brewery. The technology and the machinery used are all latest state of the art. A team of 20 German experts helped out in the setting up of the new enterprise. The brewing of the lager is conducted according to a secret German recipe and technology process elaborated by the VLB Institute in Berlin.

The winner was chosen based on several criteria. Some of them were the volume of investments made, number of new job openings, number of highly qualified experts hired and the positive influence over the economic growth of the region.

Plans for the building of new roads in the old part of Veliko Tarnovo were disclosed last week. They are set to solve the traffic issues that thousands of citizens of ‘Varusha’ quarter are encountering every day. The residential quarter that is remarkable for its architecture, namely houses built in tiers, is literally going to be unclogged. Ambulances, fire-fighters’ trucks and snow-ploughs will finally have access to the magnificent old quarter. Currently they can only get to the lower part of ‘Varusha’ and entering deeper along the narrow cobbled streets is virtually impossible

The building plans for the new lanes are ready. The total investment for setting up the new infrastructure will probably amount to 200,000 euro. The money is also going to be enough for the building of several parking lots. The new infrastructure will be beneficial for another neighborhood as well. Ten thousand people who live in ‘Kartala’ residential quarter will have alternative route to get to the town centre of Bulgaria’s old capital and to the renowned Tsarevets Fortress.

The old capital of Bulgaria is the only town that received credit for its innovatory approach in dealing with issues arising from its participation in the contest. The Ministry of Culture published on its site the report of the international jury which praises Veliko Tarnovo very high.

The choice of the themes of ‘happiness’ and ‘prosperity’ incorporated in Veliko Tarnovo’s slogan ‘We Create Happiness’ pleased the jury. The notions of ‘happiness’ and ‘prosperity’ are more and more present on Europe’s agenda. The jury also rated very high the clarity and enthusiasm of the town’s presentation on subjects such as the ever increasing number of tourists and different strategic aspects of the town’s development. The report said that dealing with issues that have to do with cultural aspects through change in the way of conduct is innovative and fresh attitude.

The judges appreciated the participation of foreign citizens, that are currently living in Veliko Tarnovo, as a sign of the European dimensions of the town. The future plans laid out in the applying form show Veliko Tarnovo’s depth of vision, said the report.

So you have recently purchased Bulgarian real estate or planning a permanent move to Bulgaria. Even though a number of younger generation Bulgarians speak English, you will still need to learn some degree of Bulgarian to get by and get through your daily life.

Even though we at Yantra Homes try to help you as much as we can, our services only go so far. If you want to learn Bulgarian, you can always get in touch with some of the few language schools in Veliko Tarnovo.

However during my recent visit to Plovdiv, a friend of mine told me about a friend of hers, teaching Bulgarian to foreigners. When I asked how it worked, she told me the teaching was done online, distantly, using Skype.

If you would like to learn Bulgarian before you permanently move to your newly purchased Bulgarian house or just want to learn a Slavic language, now you can do so in advance, from the comfort of you home. Mystylo.net is a Plovdiv-based language teaching school.